Mufti Menk – You Might Face This Dilema

Mufti Menk
AI: Summary © The speaker discusses the importance of standing for justice even if it is against one's parents. They stress that while one may be wrong, it is important to stand for justice even if it is against one's own family. The speaker also emphasizes the importance of not being oppressed and not trying to correct anyone's behavior.
AI: Transcript ©
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Then Allah

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says,

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And when you speak,

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you must be just.

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You must be just even if it is

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against your own relatives.

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Now

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in another place in the Quran, Allah tells

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us to be just even if it is

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against yourselves or your parents or your relatives.

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This echoes that where Allah is saying in

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verse number 152 of Suratul An'am that when

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you speak, when you judge between people, be

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just, be very, very fair and balanced, even

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if it is against your own relatives.

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So sometimes people have problems

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and their parents are on one side

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and justice is on the other.

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Sometimes we're blackmailed by a verse or a

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hadith, a statement of the prophet peace be

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upon him, where we know we have to

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be kind to our parents and we must

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make sure that we are good and dutiful

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and respectful. So people say, well, if heaven

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lies in the service of my parents, then

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how can I side against my parents

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when this is a matter of dispute?

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Well, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala overrides all of

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that by the verses of justice

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and he says justice comes first whether it

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is against you, your mom and dad or

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your relatives.

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So those who achieve the greatest comfort are

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those who stand for justice

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even if it is against their own parents.

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That does not mean you shouldn't be kind

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to them. It does not mean you should

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not be respectful,

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but you need to stand up for justice.

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What is right is right even if

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it were an enemy

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and what is wrong is wrong even if

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it

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were your own parents, your mother, someone whom

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Allah has really encouraged us to be so

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kind to.

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At times her human nature can take over

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and perhaps she can say or do something

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wrong, especially

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those who are married. Sometimes you have your

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own children and so much is happening in

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the house. Don't think that your mom, for

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example, or your spouse or your children are

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all angels.

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We're just human beings.

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I make mistakes.

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You make mistakes. And sometimes

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the human nature or the habits begin to

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show.

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If those habits are oppressive,

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you need to stand for justice in order

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to comfort yourself in that crisis.

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If you'd like to achieve the comfort, stand

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for justice.

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But if you were to oppress those who

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are right,

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just because on the other side is a

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relative or a parent, mother or father or

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a child or a sibling,

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then you would create

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a huge crisis.

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And in fact, you would not be able

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to come out of that crisis and you

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won't know why.

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But it's as simple as a b c,

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something that is happening in front of your

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eyes that is wrong and you are not

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prepared to correct it. You're not even prepared

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to say

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this is wrong.

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Very respectfully,

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very politely with utmost kindness, you've got to

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tell your mother or your father or your

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relative,

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my beloved mother, I love you so much

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but in this matter, you are wrong. SubhanAllah.

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The mercy that will descend,

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the blessings that will envelope you are amazing

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because

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you've stood up for justice and be firm.

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And yes, she may be hurt, but you're

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my son. You're my daughter. How could you

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tell me that? You've got to go back

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to the story of the prophet Abraham, may

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peace be upon him. You've got to look

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at that and see how he corrected his

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father with utmost respect. He told his father,

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look, I know something you don't know. Listen

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to what I have to say.

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So this is something we learn a great

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lesson. Many people are struggling in their homes.

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They are suffering in the marital home. They

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are suffering within their own circle simply because

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they have not stood up for what was

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right in a respectful way, in a very

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polite way because they found that their parents

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were

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on the other side. May Allah

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grant us the steadfastness.

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