Mohammad Elshinawy – 9 Life Lessons from the Mouth of Malik Shabazz – Malcolm X
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the history and importance of open-mindedness and critical thinking in Islam. They share quotes from Malcolm Rahim and emphasize the importance of living purposeful lives for one's happiness and fulfillment. The speakers also touch on the negative impact of culture on people's emotions and beliefs, including the belief that everything is possible until one learns from their past. They stress the importance of humility and not believing in oneself, as it is crucial for achieving humility and sustainability in order to achieve justice and fairness.
AI: Summary ©
sorella Allah Allah He was like bH marine. We begin the name of Allah whole praise and glory be to Allah and mais finest peace and blessings be upon His messenger Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and his family and his companions. And all those who tried his path, just like a little late on for being with us, as we cover in Sharla some reflections that I've collected, I guess over the years, from a personality that is admirable for so many people, right? maleek Chavez Rahim Allah May Allah bestow mercy on him, formerly, and more commonly known as Malcolm X. And so I turned this talk into, I guess, some life reflections, life lessons in general that we can glean from some quotes that were
thematic, or that symbolized very much the life story and the life message.
That Malcolm Rahim Allah, may Allah bestow mercy on him, you know, would would recurrently impress on people beautifully. So, of course, like so many people I was first introduced to Malcolm through like, you know, the Alex Haley's Autobiography of Malcolm X. It was an assigned reading in high school. And then later on in my life, I circled back to his his speeches, which exists as recordings to exist for those that don't know. And, you know, February being Black History Month is not the only time we should be speaking about Malcolm or I know a lot.
But it certainly is an opportunity to do something that is inherently Islamic, which is to recognize our debt to those that came before us.
of Muslims in general, right, you know, Allah subhanho wa Taala. destined that there exists now generations, one or more of Muslims so far, that were born into families that were Muslim
families that had converted, after being inspired by
the life and works and sincerity of Malcolm Rahim Allah and Allah in the Quran, you know, told us that he chooses who are the foreigners who are the source of guidance for generations to come. And that is why the generations that come as the Quran says, of the signs of a good latter generations that they seek forgiveness and recognize the virtue of the earlier generations, we find that unsuited Hashem
will again fo Luna Latina gentlemen back to him and those that come after them, yeah, for Luna or benefit Lana, or the cleanliness of akuna Villa and they say, Oh Allah, forgive us our sins, and the sins of those who preceded us in faith. And, of course, that begins with, you know, those who preceded us from, you know,
time immemorial, of course, in our own from the Sahaba, the companions of the Prophet sallallahu, alayhi wasallam, but all those that, you know, laid the first bricks to Islam being normalized or Islam being available to our later generations, and also to learn from the experience and the resilience of those before us as well, not just the propagation and the preaching. And we welcome in particular, I mean, the man was was a such a magnetic personality due to on one hand, like his fearlessness, his genuineness, his charisma, you know, he was a man that some of you may know, he spoke better than many people could write. You know, he spoke impromptu to answer questions
in a way that people could not speak, even if they were to write, without a formal education, as we might get to, and he he brought so many of these skills and these strengths and these talents that he had into Islam, and that of course, is also a huge lesson as the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us to configure Hillier the pharaoh can fully slam either 30 who firpo who, that the best of you before Islam become the best view after Islam and after they're coming to Islam, if they understand if they properly comprehend what Islam is about slam activates, and you know, in a sense, further validates your height, your goodness. And certainly Malcolm came into Islam with so much of
that and that's why he became such a, an influential such a blessing personality. And we expect that in sha Allah He is that and more I mean, we expect that he very likely falls under the Hadith of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that deems those who speak a word of truth to power, irrespective of the cost, even if it may cost them their life, the greatest the martyrs in the sight of Allah. So that is what we hope for him and pray for him and expect of him in sha Allah and we hope that this talk will be a good reminder of that. And at the same time, a, an addition to the elevation of his ranks and to be further in
His scale of good deeds as well.
So I will share nine quotations from Malcolm that I believe are representative of his call and his preaching and his narrative. And you know, some lessons that we can take though I'm sure there are many more that you can think of yourselves inshallah.
The first of them, Malcolm will often speak about freedom, true freedom begins with open mindedness with critical thinking. I used to say things like, if you aren't careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.
And what I want to say here is that this is not just about newspapers or news stations with agendas, it's not just about propaganda. In fact, we may actually be overly focused on propaganda and conspiracy theories, a lot of us not to deny that they don't not to deny their existence, but an over focus on them. This is not just about news, right? It's about culture. In general, when there's a certain narrow narrative being reverberated around you, you have to be aware of its stains, you have to be cognizant of the fact that it must impress something on you because human beings are so impressionable, based on what they subject themselves to their hearts are so sensitive, their mind
is so sensitive, what they consume, what is reflected off of them, it's like a mirror, you know, it'll show right away. And so the concept of you know, getting locked into an echo chamber, as we talked about in social media, only your ideas, you know, or circulate around you until that your ideas become convictions, echo chambers have always existed, it's not just about the news, not just about TV.
I'm sorry, there are people trying to be admitted here.
And I'm trying to admit to them.
I don't know how that works, I hope
I did that properly. So
echo chambers have always existed. And that is why you need to be more critical. And, you know, more astute and more careful, as he said, you know, to hold your tongue, and even hold your like, brace your mind, and suspect yourself a little bit right suspect your premature judgments.
And how to do that there's a long story. But number one, let's go to his example of news. You need to diet to put on a diet, your intake of news, because that will affect your worldview. Like if you have a lot of bad news, you'll, you'll assume the whole world is only bad because sadly, bad news sells better than good news. So the end of it right? Also, because you know, the more you see, the more you will say. And when you say something, it becomes harder to walk away from it. And so just hold your tongue, and you know, don't see it so that you don't have to say it.
You know, we live in a very difficult time right now, where you because you are being bombarded with so much news. So fast and real time that you assume you have the full story. And so like we pass judgments on incidents that are happening across a country across an ocean, as if we know the other side of the story, we don't even know who the person is, was relaying to us that story, let alone asserting it is the story. And at most, it will only be one side of the story. And every story has at least two sides. So be aware of this, we have a propensity to being skewed in our perspectives, and we become closed minded because of our news intake because of
our consumption. Because of our environment, we are all products of our environment. And Malcolm used to always remind people of that, to be aware of the herd effect, just you know, swaying with everyone else. You know, interestingly, perhaps the most worthy application of this is our struggles with faith. Some of us struggle with faith and like how do I know that faith is true? Many of our youth who are you know, born into Muslim families, they say, I can't really commit to the faith anymore, I can't really believe in this stuff anymore. Why? Because I'm being open minded. And it's very painful and very sad, because they are actually just echoing that they are open minded, when in
reality, they are just a product of their environment, they are not really breaking away from their environment, because being anti religious, and like radically skeptical, especially when it comes to religion, that is actually the norm. So if anything, if anything, the person who chooses a religion, in an atmosphere that is hostile to God and religion, that's the open minded person, because the conditioning is in the opposite direction. And so how sad is that, that, you know, you've lost the ability to think critically. And in this while saying, I'm open minded and critical, you are actually just another part of the hurt. And so being careful with this was something Malcolm could
always caution people about.
He would also speak about the importance of living purposeful lives right a life of purpose.
And he's to say this probably
One of his most famous quotes ever that a man who stands for nothing will fall for anything.
So, what do I want to say here? All human beings, all of us, we are purposeful creatures. It's not like oh, this person is not thoughtful enough to think about his purpose and greater purpose. And no, no, we actually allow made us purposeful. We do things because of the end that they deliver us to. Sometimes we are not conscious about what we're working towards. But we are all working towards something. And so it's really just a matter of whether you're chasing a selfish purpose. You fell for a selfish purpose, right, you'll fall for anything or a transcendent purpose or you're actually living for something noble, something worthy, something greater than yourself.
And you know, very interestingly in the famous like hierarchy of human needs that pyramid from you know, Abraham Maslow if you if you're aware, he has his very famous ladies, anyone like psych 101, reads and hears about a human beings have certain needs, at the top of the pyramid, the pinnacle of the needs, is self actualization for you to fulfill your potential.
What's interesting is that many people don't know that Maslow actually amended he actually revised the pyramid.
I can't speak about the reasons now, but at the end of his life, and he said human beings actually have another great higher need a higher need, then fulfilling their potential self actualization. And he said that self transcendence which is not to live for, you know, the best version of yourself and achieve that, but to live for something greater than yourself,
to transcend yourself, and you can transcend yourself to live for others, which I guess is not as bad as living for yourself but also it's kind of the same different topic because you're doing it because it makes you feel good to not only be focused on yourself, so it's really still about you. And the true meaning that our Deen teaches us of self transcendence is not to a greater purpose than yourself but the greatest purpose of all which is Allah hood oddly, you know a lot of the most great to serve Allah that's what you were created for. You have a need to serve Allah Allah told us that in the Quran, right? I didn't create you except to serve me the most great subpoena without that's
your need. It's not the laws need.
And so everyone's gonna chase you know, something that's very important take from this quote, all human beings will chase something, but that something will either be fulfilling or unfulfilling.
You're not supposed to be pursuing above all to fulfill yourself. But what I'm saying is that if you transcend then you serve God, you will get that anyway. You Allah will not leave you stranded you that is actually the only time that you will find peace, you will find tranquility, you will find contentment in life. One of the setup one of the early Muslims, he said that the hearts are never static. And this is profound. Like the hearts never like feel this stop to rest. The hearts don't want to rest. That's their nature. Allah created them ambitious, the spiritual hearts, right? They're never static. So they will either circle around the throne, he said, or they will circle
around the trash, like they're either, you know, revolving around God. So kind of what Allah or the revolving around the sewers the most unworthy, right? You don't stand for nothing. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.
And so there's only one worthy purpose and everything else is what Malcolm would call simply anything. So being principle, being purposeful is really about knowing what your purpose is a lot hold us then living up to it. The heart doesn't want to rest. The spirit doesn't want to rest the Spirit wants contentment, wants inner peace wants tranquility. And that's why it's so beautiful that in the whole an allen never says that, you know, in the remembrance of God to the hearts find rest. I know it's translated like that sometimes. But that's not exactly what it's saying. It says that's where the hearts find reassurance. That's what we're all looking for. We're looking for reassurance.
We all seek it through different ways. They're a sham for most people, you'll fall for anything you fall for these, you know, false advertisements of where you can find, you know, gratification fulfillment, but in the remembrance of Allah in circling around his throne, living in devotion to him, that's where the hearts find that tranquility, serenity and contentment nowhere else. So I'll leave it there just so we have time for the other quotes. He used to always tell people to embrace adversity about human lung and love mercy on him and speak about how pain is the bridge to pleasure. That's actually an item's words. Pain is the bridge to pleasure. But his quote about this that I've
chosen at least there's many that there's no better than adversity, nothing better out there than adversity. He says every defeat every heartbreak. Every loss contains its own seed right and opportunity to plant something right contains its own seed its own lesson on how to
improve your performance the next time around. It's quite interesting. You know how people
always talk about the problem of evil, that whole conundrum like why did God let there be evil in the world? But evil and adversity are actually what makes the world meaningful? Like, what is the point of life? If everything is already given? Life is actually tasteless, you know, forget that meaningless it also tasteless. Why do people get depressed when they go on retirement? Because there's nothing to gain, right? I'm on my pension, there's nothing I'm not competing, you know, that insecurity that I have about getting furloughed or getting fired? Or so that actually creates great, like, if there was no fear involved in going through the rubble after the econo disaster, earthquake
or something? Would this person even be more valiant for, you know, risking their life to save those people under those
demolished rocks with that collapse the building? If there's no challenge, if there's no adversity, life itself, and it's not just meaningless, it's not even enjoyable anymore. Like some people say, you know, why did God allow evil in the world? Well imagine a world without evil. That would be like a deaf, dumb and blind world. Like, what do you mean no evil, like no adversity whatsoever. That means no one will ever try to learn anything because we all know everything. No one will ever try to do anything because everything's already been done. No one, you know, will be more beautiful than anyone else. Because having inferior beauty is a disadvantage, right? No one will ever feel no
happiness because there's no such thing as sadness. There's no such thing as achievement. There was no such thing as struggle, there would be no interest, no taste, no enjoyability there'd be nothing there. We would basically not be able to perform good deeds because it's not just think as an evil deed. So what are we we're like simulate the traffic light is one professor says, we would become, you know, like the the doll or the you know, just the the gears in a box. It is, you know, the pain that makes pleasure, accessible. And Malcolm, you know, elsewhere, similar to this quote, he used to say that,
about black freedom, you say that it is only after slavery and after prison, that the sweetness and appreciation of freedom can finally come.
And those who no strife in life know exactly what that means. Also, Malcolm used to tell people that it's not your past that has to determine your future, your past does not necessitate your future.
And he used to say that stumbling is not falling. On another occasion, he said, because, you know, Malcolm was convicted, he did go to prison for a period in his life. He said it is not disgraceful to be a criminal. It is only disgraceful to remain a criminal. And this is profound for so many reasons. But like also, maybe we'll come back to it like Malcolm used to refuse even though the odds were stacked against him right by the systemic racism. That is, and of course,
those strides have been made still exists. You know, the system is built to keep them down, he still refused to stay down. But that but just the issue of falling to begin with, let's just address that first because the other one about resilience is coming later.
It is not disgraceful, was disgraceful as to stay down to remain a criminal?
You know, Malcolm, for sure. And so many like him are
moved to better versions of themselves by the redemptive power of Islam. Islam is what tells us you can always redeem yourself, that your future is not necessitated, sealed by your past. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said in MLM Allah will have a team actions are ultimately judged by how they're sealed, right? And he didn't just say that, I suppose. And he gave us so many examples. He told us that the man who killed 100 souls and the famous had a famous prophetic tradition. He didn't even reform Did he? He was bent on reforming you know, the Hadith actually says fernet Abbey saw that he he like he leaned forward with his chest. Why did that statement exist there in the Hadees.
It was an expression of how eager he was to make things right. And then he died on route to the new land where he would become a better person and turn a new leaf. And ultimately he was forgiven, because Allah knew that he would have reformed and he showed Allah with whatever time he had left in his life that he was going to try. And so so long as there is a breath left in you, as the other Hadeeth mentioned, our level except your repentance if you're genuine, you know we even have the Hadith also in Makati. This one's cloudy and Muslim.
About that man that gathered his children as he was dying and he said to his children, what kind of father was it you they said you were the best father ever. He said, Well listen, I've never done any good in my life. Imagine that point.
So when I die, burn my body or become like ash. Turn me to ash like when I pulverize. You know, the
The char make it ash cremate me, basically, and then wait for a windy day, throw half of me to the wind and half of me in the ocean. And he explains why he says because if Allah is able to grab ahold of me, it's just I love that idea. It's just so beautiful because he already said I didn't do any good in my life.
And then now he's like, he's also doing something that's kind of wrong, really wrong, major wrong, which is doubting and less power. But as it let me continue to add, if Allah is able to grab ahold of me, He will punish me in a way he's never punished anybody. And so he told his children, you none of you have any right to my estate until you swear that you will do this. You can't have any of my money. He was wealthy and had many children And so again, he's saying that all the money I ever got was Haram. But then he tells them you will not get any of my estate. You're you I refuse you are not permitted unless you promised to do this to me. So they all promised he died. They did it and then
Allah says couldn't be and it is right. All of a sudden you know that the wind and the ocean throw back everything and an instant he's a man standing again say that Lord, you don't call him daddy says. And then Allah says to him, oh, my servant also. And so what drove you to do all this like once? Burn me and throw me around? What what drove you to do this? Carla Harsha to Kiara he said out of fear of you, my lord.
The Hadith says and it was not long meaning eventually Allah admitted him into his mercy and enveloped Him in His forgiveness. Because all of this wrong and even doubting God's power, but because it was driven by a great deed, the deed of fear of Allah is what this all was predicated on. A lot use that as a reason to forgive him. And so our Deen is of endless hope, because Allah subhanho wa Taala is unimaginably merciful. So So long as there is life in you, there is hope for you. Your future does not have to be determined by your past and Malcolm and always call people to this.
You know, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said and maybe it is worth it to just keep, you know, drilling this point home. That one, that sheath on the devil swore to Allah He said, by your might by Your Majesty, I will continue to mislead the children of Adam, so long as their souls remain in their bodies. And so Allah swore to shaytaan to the devil that I will continue seeking their I will continue granting them forgiveness, so long as they continue seeking.
So May Allah azza wa jal allow us to never lose sight of this can be more confident than his forgiveness and his mercy than in our actions. And may we not ever be too jaded to make the best of our future.
Due to our you know, negative lens and over focus on our past alone, I mean, we'll learn from our past, keep it in the rearview mirror, but we're not going to let it as they say obstructed the windshield.
And then Malcolm, always tell people stop accepting that you're the victim. It's not going to help anybody to have the victim card and flash it. And this is extremely relevant for nowadays, right like this, this culture of, you know,
you know, my rights, my rights, my rights, I've been usurped of my rights, no, focus on your responsibilities, you'll get your rights and fulfill the responsibilities you have towards others. Victim card will get you nowhere. He so he says, usually when people are said, you know, they don't do anything, they just cry, you know, and they lament over their condition. But when they get angry, they bring about a change. And you know, for ethically speaking, sadness is never inherently praised anywhere in Islam. Sadness might be a praiseworthy quality, because it is the product of our faith. Like, I'm sad, because I missed out on an opportunity to do a good deed or I'm sad, because I
committed You know, this, how long does this misdeed but in and of itself, it is not the name of the Sharia? No, because it is, you know, it's not useful, it's counterproductive, and can really get its grip on you and hold you back. As a matter of fact, the Koran says that shavon shavon, the devil loves to set in the believers. Why because complacency is begotten by excessive sadness.
And so he says the solution is to get angry. And so anger, of course does have its place, right, righteous anger has its place.
It's necessary actually righteous anger, there's natural anger out of self dignity, and that is fine. And also something that is, you know, cold for, because if you have self respect, you're not just going to be indifferent about whether someone you know, respect you or doesn't respect you, slaps you, or hugs you, you should care. Right? Or else you're not alive, you know, so, but righteous anger, like anger for the right cause it's not just for myself, for our laws, dogen for his creation, all of that, that is necessary. islamically and it is also a powerful motivator. And it just needs to be regulated Of course, because of your emotions, whatever they may be. If
They are not regulated by your your wisdom, then they can be manipulated against you, right? things, many times things come from the right places, but they're expressed in the wrong ways. And they don't help anyone, rather, they can harm a great deal.
And then he used to tell people, you know, get angry, but also seek power, I guess there is some sort of linear progression, by the way, in these in these quotes, I kind of arranged them and then rearrange them, if you can't tell. That's my fault. But I attempted to,
to cause them to lead to one another in a coherent way. And then he used to remind people that power only respect power.
Power never takes it back step, he says, Only, it only does so in the face of more power. So anger is not enough. You know, you need to be driven by anger, or, you know, by duty, or by whatever else. But without vision, and without a sense of reality, and how I'm getting engaged that reality and change that reality, that it's pointless. You know, it's very interesting that, you know, for those that are involved in the activism, spheres, like social activism, and otherwise,
they actually very commonly say, like, don't fall asleep after the protest, because they know this, that protests can actually be very dangerous, because they deflate the anger. And that is what most people have, most people just have the anger. And so they don't have the vision, they don't have the strategy, they don't have the long term. That's the long winded pneus. And there's a very big difference between protesting and between, you know, changing laws and policies. And that is why there's so much less resistance to approving of a protest the government's approved protests all the time. But it is far more complicated to, you know, approve the change of large change of policy.
That is because it is more effective, more consequential, for better, for worse, right? I mean, I'm not saying we should have fluid policies, or else like where's the civility. But think about that, you know, there has to be real power, real change. And, you know, for us, let's just talk down at our level a little bit, a lot of us are not the global players, but we can still make a difference, we still have agency. And we should always focus on that, you know, building families, building institutions, building healthy alliances, you know, advancing our careers.
But with the bigger picture in mind, right, we're not saying be career driven, because we should not as Muslims be career driven, we should be conscientious in our careers, we should be successful in our careers. But that is not our primary driving force. Right? It is a means just like everything else in our life is a means primarily, we can enjoy it we but it's a means primarily to the pleasure of Allah subhana wa tada in the pursuit of the right causes. And you know, as Muslims, we need to keep saying this, that we will not get stronger in the in the influence of Islam, and you know, the benefits of Islam will not be gleaned by the world, until we are stronger, more powerful in dunia
first, right. Like
it was a pivotal change when the aroma of lucapa became Muslim, even the above the severe karate lavonne became Muslim before him and was more righteous than him. And of course, the prophet SAW Selim is not to be compared with anyone he is the most worthy, right, but alone wanted to teach us that we have to engage our realities. Our mother was representative of strength, physical, tribal, lots of different kinds of strength. And so they became empowered by the Islam trauma. And so we need to look at, you know, the, the joints of power, you know, the media, for example, Malcolm himself actually say that, right, like the media is the most powerful entity on Earth, because it
has the power to shape public opinion, you say you don't notice how the media makes the innocent look guilty and the guilty
look innocent. And you say, because that is power, and that is power because they control the minds of the masses. He's to say also that people don't realize how a man's whole life can be changed by one book. And so like find your sphere of power, your sphere of influence, it could be in shaping the generations of tomorrow, it could be in pivot, you know, in you know, beneficial widespread benefits coming from your research or from your philanthropy or from your opinion or from your dedication or from your mobilization of others that are more tangibly
influential, but no one wants to do or no one has access to them and wants to do the behind the scenes, nitty gritty work. So we have to realize that reality works like this and we have to work long term to develop
arms of power to advance what we believe are the worthiest causes, right, for our betterment in the betterment of humanity at large. And, of course, the discussion on
Malcolm's pushback on racism in general.
And his change of heart regarding the cure to racism is something we cannot speak enough about this.
Just one of the famous quotes from
his his letter from Mecca he because you all should know Malcolm went to Mecca and realize that Islam is not a reaction to white supremacy that asserts black supremacy. And it's like reverse prejudice, no slam is, you know, immune to being a reaction and the pendulum effect that goes from one extreme to another. Islam is, you know, an ultimate truth, you know, not the reaction to any in justices or otherwise. And so he said, America needs to understand Islam because it's the only religion that erases from its society, the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world I've met talk to even even with people in America, who in America would have been considered white,
but the white attitude was removed from their minds by their religion of Islam. I've never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced by all colors together, irrespective of their color.
You know, he said, what I saw between blue eyed blondes and black skinned Africans, you know, in these 10s, of 1000s of pilgrims in Mecca, it led me to believe the spirit of purity and brotherhood led me to believe what my experiences in America had made me think, what could never be possible, between the white and the non white.
You know, I used to say, and I like to share this, that I used to say that Islam is so beautiful, you know, for two reasons. Number one is that only Islam has proven right as the quote on the on the screen says, has proven to be effective. Because, you know, everyone has this theory on like, gender equality and racial equality. And everyone was like, show me your, your, your resume, what the system has been able to do what Islam did, you know, even if we say the American Muslim community, for example, has been tainted by the the racism and the systems here or racisms, in general, in you know, human experience, it is still there's no comparison. Like, it still shows the fruit of Islam
compared to everything else. You know, for example, you know, Muslims in America, according to Pew Research, are the most ethnically racially diverse group in the country.
You know, I'm not saying we're, we are the Sahaba of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, but even in our relative distance from the purity of Islam, the Quran and Sunnah, you can still see it.
And whatever exists of racial tolerance has been exported to the world, so much of it, if not all of it by Islam, Islamic teachings. So basically, number one, what has Islam strike record? You know, I'm not the person that says this, you know, Arnold Toynbee, you know, died in 1975, University of London professor, he has a book called civilization on trial. And he says, the extinction of race consciousness, like you being standoffish about different races, the way it exists between Muslims, he says, is one of the outstanding moral achievements of Islam. It's like, it's different than when it comes to Islam. He says, and in the contemporary world, like with all its problems, there is a
crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue.
You know, I used to say that, here's the second so that's the track record issue. The second issue is that I used to say that Islam was colorblind. And then you know, mmm, that would lead, you know, the author of recentering, black narrative, and Islam and blackness, and just great brother and activist all around very, you know, traditionally grounded in the friendzone or respectful of the sacred texts. But you know, so active on the ground towards, you know, economic equality, racial equality and justice, social justice at large. He corrected me on this, he said, I would argue that Islam is superior to being colorblind. He said, Because colorblind means or could mean that you
don't notice the difference. So if you don't notice the difference between the black person and the white person in the ground person, then you don't really get much credit. Like you're just ignoring the differences. You don't get much credit for tolerating it, respecting the difference. He says his land or an his rights sort of room tells us it's of God's signs, the diversity in your colors and tongues. So Islam demands of you to notice the difference and appreciate it. So when you do notice that it's the difference, and you're not a bigot, after noticing the difference, that is what is special. And so Islam did something superior to make people colorblind. It made people appreciative
of diversity of colors, complexions, and, you know, backgrounds. That's very beautiful, you know, slight tangent, but this is kind of like secularism, by the way, you know, you know, anti religious secularism. There is not much to be impressed about when you say I respect all religions, you know, in the secular times, it's very, you know, common.
You know, platitude, a principle people live by, I respect all religions. Well, there's not much to be impressed by, or admire when you say you respect all religions, when you
Are when you believe they are all equally worthless, right? Like I respect all religions, we just we don't want to see them just lock them away in the mosque on Friday in church on Sunday. What's so impressive about that that is exactly what Western secularism has done, it knocked the religion away. That's what secularism means right section them off, don't see it in the public space,
at least especially European secularism, and what that spawned. And it was a solution for them because they could not get past seeing their religious differences. But that's a different subject. They could not have a civil society while recognizing the differences. So they put the differences aside so that they can survive, and not eat each other a life. But Islam actually has a very different position. Islam asserts that Islam is truth, the truth, big tea, the Quran is the word of God, the only remaining uncorrupted Word of God. And at the same time, it alots human dignity, and opens the floor for coexistence with those who don't have this, because that's your decision. We're
gonna demand social justice. But you know,
doctrinal religious beliefs, creed, that one will be referred to the Day of Judgment. And that is why you see in Muslim civilizations, historically, even who and what spearheaded comparative religion who could have these conversations, that was all, you know, Muslim contributions to the world. Only Islam has solution to these things and the cure.
I'm going to wrap up in these next four minutes, to open the floor for questions. inshallah. This next point is like humility is the mark of the believer. And, you know, I chose this quote, Don't be in a hurry to condemn because he doesn't do what you do or think as you think or as fast. There was a time when he didn't know what you know, today. That humility is really about considering how equal we are, in our like, no one is privileged to be authoritative in their subjective opinions. Like no one is like that. That's the only God right. And then God, you know, opens his eyes as he pleases and portions out knowledge, right. Whatever his whenever she emailed me, he loved me machette nobody
comes across anything of God's knowledge, except when he permits, right? And just because he permits, it doesn't mean you're deserving, either. It just means that he could be testing you with the amount of knowledge that you have, how will you comply with it or appropriate it? Right? Use it
towards your agendas or your preconceived notions or your stubborn ways or otherwise to justify them. So, you know, humility, you know, Malcolm used to say, right, he's say, it's not that I've never met a kind white person. He said, But I,
I could be conflating him with someone else. But the comparison of pettiness, like, they're kind to me that way. They're kind, they could be kind to their dog or cat. That doesn't mean they see us as equals, it was only in Mecca. And and then when I travel the Muslim world, and I truly believe that they saw me as an equal, which was something I didn't think was possible. And so that is what humility is about to not see an inherent virtue. And that is not just in being cordia not just in being polite. Even in the people that you believe very strongly are mistaken. You say, but you know what, maybe I'm the one who's mistaken. Or maybe, you know, they're more right about other issues.
And I'm only right about this one, to truly, you know, operationalize humility, that is the mark of the believer
or to see that you are correct in a certain respect and be confident in certain about it, but realize this is purely Allah's bounty on you. You know, as the Quran says, Do not say to those who extend this lmcu you are not a Muslim,
you know, due to your you know, fixation on this world kinetica quinto macabre from Allah Aleykum you are just like them before and our law conferred a great favor upon you. Meaning Don't act like you're the owner of anything, including your correctness, because Allah could dim that light in your heart and ignite a radiant lamp in theirs.
And
and as he and you know, changing opinions, you changed your opinion in the past, because you were sincere. Right? And so just because they've had the different opinion in the past doesn't mean they're insincere. It just means maybe they haven't come across the truth yet. And so get over yourself, if you will, and don't forget where you came from, and how quickly I could fall apart in your interactions with people. Lastly, and finally, most importantly, sincerity. Above all, this is my favorite quote ever for Malcolm he used to say I want to be remembered as someone who was sincere. Even if I made mistakes, they were made in sincerity. And even if I was wrong, I was wrong
in sincerity. That is the guidance of a law so again for this man, you know, so many people don't understand
This that you can never be right on all the occasions, but you can be sincere. And that is why from Alice fairness he obligated us above all with sincerity. Sincerely seeking Him sincerely seeking truth sincerely seeking your commitment with him.
supanova Donna, and you know, sincerity is not just about shedding a tear when you are being reminded about a lot. And you know the last day sincerity is about being aligned with what is right. That is what righteousness should trigger in our head being aligned with what is right, even when it's inconvenient.
And you know, Malcolm Rahim, Allah had to face many inconveniences, you know, to walk back many of the things he said about white people upon discovering the real Islam was very costly, also, to part ways with the nation was extremely costly. But that is the definition of righteousness. Everyone is righteous, when you know, righteousness matches their desires, right? But when your desires go one way, like convenience, for example, and righteousness, the truth, right, because respecting truth is respecting Allah, Allah subhanaw taala. So if any truth comes your way, and you don't adopt it, rather you manipulate it or appropriate it, then you're aligned with yourself with your ego, not
your relationship with Allah above all else, right? So when, you know,
your desires go one way or your preferences, right? And then truth goes another way that is the true test of right if you're really righteous or not, will you change? Will you you know, have been we've, you know, fallen leaves, like evading or like dodging, like, will you adapt with the truth or not? Or will you care too much about the cost down here, the cost in this world? Malcolm Rahim, Allah knew very much the cost of him changing his positions, yet he changes positions many times. And that is of the greatest signs of sincerity. Not always, sometimes you got to be like introspective. Now you could be shifted in a way that is, you know, very unprincipled. That's very
scary. If you're not aware, you you you could be the most insincere person ever. Because you're constantly shifting positions, but also you shifting positions could also be of the greatest sign of sincerity for you. And that is all you really need. Because if you are sincere, then you don't have to be right. You will be right. More often than not, if you are sincere, and then you will be forgiven for the times that you're not right, so long as you're sincere.
And that is the beauty of Allah azza wa jal only expecting of you what he gave you gave you which is the ability to give him your heart. You cannot be the most wise you cannot be the most knowing That's him. But you can be the most devoted the most clingy right, the most dedicated to him. That is your noblest quality. That is why the noblest description of the province outside lemon the righteous is a servant, right? I'm at your service of Allah, I am the servant of god no matter what. Irrespective of the costs. And so, you know, in conclusion,
Allah zoa Jen, you can make so many wrong turns on your journey to him. But if they are done in sincerity, somehow someway because of who he is, you'll still find yourself at the right location. May Allah azza wa jal carry us and you through this dunya and its ups and downs and it's decision safely and allow us a reason to be forgiven. Allow us a reason to be guided and and reward. Our email Malcolm Rahim Allah for many of these gems that he's, you know, left on the dark road for us to help us forward in that journey. Alumni me