Mufti Menk – Why Did You Choose Islam
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the importance of knowing the principles and regulations of Islam, as it is a fundamental part of Islam. They explain that while some may not understand certain concepts, it is important to have knowledge and enlightenment to build one's faith. The speaker also emphasizes that while some may not understand certain aspects of Islam, it is important to have a clear understanding of the principles and regulations.
AI: Summary ©
A question
that we may be asked,
why are you a Muslim?
Why is it that you have chosen the
faith of Islam?
Many people born Muslim have probably not even
thought about it. It.
But a day may come when someone might
ask you
and you might not have thought of
the deep reasoning,
and so you may not have at times,
perhaps,
due to lack of knowledge, a convincing response.
And if you have embraced the fold of
Islam later on in life, masha'Allah. Congratulations.
May Allah bless and grant goodness, not just
to you, but to all of us. And
may Allah bless humanity at large and guide
us all. Ameen.
But
we need to know when we say La
Iqraha Fid deen,
repeating the verse of the Quran, the words
of Allah,
There is no compulsion
in deen in the religion. What does it
mean? It means no one can force you
to enter the fold of Islam.
Once you enter the fold of Islam,
you have
adopted
something
through your own free will
that you have chosen as your faith.
And there is a set of rules and
regulations
that are unaltered,
not changed.
You have no right to come and start
changing things and chopping and still call it
Islam.
Islam is a religion
that has been set by Allah,
the Creator, the Maker.
And the messenger, peace be upon him, related
it to us.
Those rules and regulations
collectively are known as Islam. But if I
come and I say
I'm a Muslim,
I am
required to follow that set of rules and
regulations.
If I think that, no,
I don't agree with x y z, then
is it fair to call yourself a Muslim?
That's the question.
Because people come and try and change things
and
bring that which goes against the Quran and
the sunnah of the prophet Muhammad, peace be
upon him. And they say, no, but I
am Muslim by the way. By the way,
by what way?
You'd rather be honest and say, look, do
you know what?
I don't agree. And that's it. Yes. If
there is a question in your mind and
you are inquisitive,
it happens to everyone with ignorance
that sometimes you are a Muslim, but there
are a few concepts you may not have
grasped so well. So all you need is
enlightenment
and all you need is a little bit
of
knowledge and you will get the answers.
So that doesn't make you a non muslim
simply because you haven't understood a thing or
2 or you haven't grasped some aspects and
concepts of Islam. But
as time goes on and you learn and
you continue to ask and you find out
and you begin to grasp it better, you
become consolidated
in your faith.
And this is why it's important to have
knowledge.
Yes. The pillars of Islam,
those are known
as you were entering the fold of Islam
or if you were a born Muslim, as
you grew older
and you became a teenager, you became an
adult. It was your duty to start
finding out even prior to that actually.
So the pillars,
no compromise.
When it comes to the in-depth teachings, you
may not understand some of the concepts
because not everyone is that knowledgeable. So Allah
says,
If you're unaware of revelation, if you don't
know and you're ignorant and you don't understand,
perhaps ask those with knowledge. Ask those who
know.
They will respond to you with evidence. And
at the same time, it will enlighten you
from the ignorance that you had of the
revelation.