Mufti Menk – We Live In A Non Ideal World

So if there is someone generally practicing,

they may not appreciate

that we're actually

aiming at the the vast majority who are

struggling to practice or not practicing, or sometimes

not even Muslim.

I studied in Madinah Munawara in 1991

onwards,

for a few years, and I can tell

you that I was also very hard initially,

and rigid with what I learned and the

way I wanted to do things. But when

I got home, my father told me,

sit and watch the people for a whole

year. Don't go out and start talking to

them until you see them for 1 whole

year. So for a whole year, I was

just sitting and watching, teaching little children alif

and ba at this madrassa.

And it was very humbling because I was

bubbling and bursting with a lot and ended

up teaching at a madrasah adjacent to the

masjid. I was leading the salawat,

barely ever spoke to anyone and so on.

And then by the time I opened my

mouth, I was already calm.

I already saw that, you know, you're trying

to bring people into an ideal

situation and we're living in a non ideal

world.

So it's really

a beautiful experience to have had someone,

who's an expert in addressing people,

discipline you and your own wishes at the

same time bringing the 2 together.