Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari – Detailed Interview Part 5-5
AI: Summary ©
The importance of social media and online learning for individuals is emphasized, and advises avoiding certain controversial topics and focusing on one's own work and research. The challenges faced by students in their roles, including lack of diversity and the need for reform, are discussed, along with the challenges faced by graduates in their roles and the importance of biology and spiritual understanding. The host emphasizes the need for control and personal preference, and recommends subscribing to their YouTube channel for more content.AI: Transcript ©
So inshallah chef, to conclude this interview, I'd like to ask you some general questions moreso nusseibeh for the lovelier elmora, lemma graduates and so on. I'd like to get your thoughts on social media and the online world, should individuals be seeking knowledge from online from the internet? And because it's so readily available? And then secondly, should orlimar be, you know, using social mediums, etc? Or should they be keep keeping up with these new avenues available to us basically,
of course, we need to scholars and students need to keep up with what's going on, otherwise, you stay behind. And that's why
many scholars are have social media accounts, they have Twitter accounts, Facebook accounts, on Instagram, they're all on YouTube. So that's definite. Otherwise, if there's only two, like two choices, if you stay away, then there will be public regarding from other sources. So you have to keep up.
The is scholars have to keep up with what's going on in the world, you have to keep up you can't be left behind. That's always been the case. And that will always remain the case. But the first part of that question, in terms of just social media, etc. I mean, what I would normally say what I normally say to students, and the general public as well, is that not everything is there on online, not all the greatest scholars are all online.
You know, we need to distinguish between YouTubers between the is between great Paloma and Masha and therefore, seek knowledge be very particular, you know, the famous saying of Imam mo serine and many others, on the little in the huddle, Amara Dean, this matter is Dean for Leandro Hadoken.
To Hulu Deena, be very careful where you take your religion from. It's the same thing with medicine. You know, online on YouTube, you can find anyone talking about any treatment, like any problem you have, you just go on YouTube, and someone's telling you how to make this medicine and take this and take that. And it's all a jungle of you know, things that you find that it's like, everything and anything. So we never take our deen from those kinds of sources, we go to qualified doctors, and people who are experts in the field. Likewise,
if someone is taking knowledge from the internet, then they should know who that person is. That's the condition if you know the person in real life, or you know about them the credentials, the expertise, the qualifications, where they've studied. Once you trust them, you know who that person is, then only then seek knowledge from them online. Do not seek knowledge from anyone who's just randomly appeared online, and you don't know like with any medicine, like if you find an official medical center that you know of, and they've got a YouTube account, and they are giving you certain advices on there, or they've got some articles, then yeah, you will trust that because you know them
that have officially accredited organization outside of that. But if you just find just go on Google and just search, you know, simply just put your symptoms in, and just any video that's coming, and you just start following what the person said, you will end up in the graveyard. So therefore, just randomly following anyone and anything who talks about Islam, that's wrong. You need to know the people from beforehand and then only follow them basically.
And then also, you know, avoid all these controversies. And these differences and debates. I mean, I just don't feel you know, sometimes it's entertainment for people and young people that like entertainment.
You know, concentrate on things that really relate to your life, work on your eemaan practice the Dean rather than people wasting their time, you know, just in debating and arguing and fighting and quarreling and disputing.
And, you know, sometimes people are just doing that online just to make money for entertainment. I have known I've been told that there's two people who are debating about an issue but internally from behind the scenes, they're actually friends, and they're just trying to get audiences trying to debate Islamic to to channels or to YouTubers, and they're just trying to make money.
So no one knows what's happening.
So therefore, try to avoid those kinds of things. Basically, this one my advice is to people, you know, I was telling the students in the mother Assad last week, I said, You guys are students. You shouldn't be learning your deen from YouTubers.
You know all these YouTubers that are therefore the people on the streets, you guys are becoming scholars, students of knowledge you should be reading Roger matar and Mojito. burhani spend your days and nights doing Motala of books and writing and researching, increasing your knowledge. Your Role Models should not be these YouTubers,
you should be your Messiah, your teachers, and you become yourself a great show. This is what I told the students. So but because it's more fashionable, and it's like, you know, it's
it's quite sad. But anyway, these are the few things I had to say about this, basically, do you have any general advice for to local or any students of knowledge, or Aloma graduates of various different in seminaries, or just dyes in general? Something that you would like, you know, to, for them to hear some message that you'd like to give them? Yeah, like I mentioned that the students what I told them, that's the first point. I always mentioned, I've actually tweeted this as well, that what is the object of studying for students of knowledge in traditional mattresses, and I said, one is that you get the ability to read classical books on your own. So that's why you, the students
they're studying, the mother says the train themselves.
And they get this ability obtain this ability to read classical books on their own. But the second objective is de facto, which is
staying in the company of great scholars,
teachers, and this is a link, your teachers, the teachers, they have a link, they have their teachers, they and their teachers had their teachers, it's a link going all the way back to the messenger of allah sallallahu, alayhi wasallam, generation after generation. So studying under qualified teachers, linking yourselves to them getting a balanced understanding of Deen from them. You see,
the Dean understanding Allah's Messenger SallAllahu Sallam gave to the Sahaba companions, they granted the understanding, they passed on that understanding to the wo. So this understanding of the deal, a particular understanding. So staying in the company of teachers, and acquiring and obtaining this balanced understanding. Now, I'm not saying everyone's going to be exactly the same, there'll be differences within them as well, like you mentioned, there's different things, some things are outside, totally outside the box, and some things are in the box, but in the box, it could be here, it could be here, it could be there could be some movements, it just depends who you feel affiliated
to more connected to, but, you know, stick to one particular methodology and respect other methodologies within that box, basically. So
the biggest challenge that I feel that students have, and I've said this many times to students of knowledge.
And young graduates, I've mentioned this on a lot of time, a lot of occasions
is that
we are living in a time where
mainstream aspects of Islam have are being challenged
mainstream. So we have this traditional and, you know, understanding of Dean traditional concepts, things that have been accepted by the Ummah, for decades, for centuries, generation after generation.
In this modern times, in the name of modernism, in the name of feminism, in the name of liberalism,
these mainstream concepts and ideas are being challenged. People want to distort it change in the name of reform, Islam, they are saying needs to be reformed.
So we have, you know, people who are to the left, they call themselves Muslims that are people who have said that, where does it say in Islam that a woman has to even wear a hijab, for getting a car, that's a factory if they love issue, but they are questioning the obligation of hijab the people who are calling for women to lead
prayers with congregation with men and women behind them? You have the pink mosque somewhere, you know, where the pink Imam Imam and there are people who are saying Where does it say in Islam homosexuality is prohibited? There are people who are saying what is it say in Islam gender change is prohibited.
So all these you know, mainstream people want to change the inheritance laws, which are clearly in the Quran, literally daiquiri, mythical Halothane.
The son gets to fold over the daughter, you know, these mainstream concepts.
So that this is one of the greatest challenge for the DAR is for students of knowledge for young scholars.
That the challenge is, and this is actually what I did in one of these books. The book
The 40 Hudson marriage, I carefully selected Hadith but specially selected those Hadith that can be considered as challenging non Muslims they point the fingers at those Hadith as a hadith the messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, I'll Murata Holocaust Mandela in a woman is created from a rib and from a bench rib and the upper part of the bed to the rib is the most bent. If I was to tell anyone to prostrate before anyone, Umberto l Murata, I would have commanded a woman, a wife to prostrate and make sujood before a husband, those kinds of habits, so I took them on challenging ones, and explained the proper context. So there's a lot of you know, gender roles, rights of women,
men role women roles of men and women gender roles. Like I said, a lot of these issues are due and punishments and all these kinds of issues.
So you have some people who call themselves Muslims.
There's a woman who's a lesbian, Muslim, Muslim, or she calls herself a Muslim or lesbian Muslim. She wrote a book The trouble with Islam, she said, I don't even call it the trouble with Muslims. I call it the troubles with Islam. She says I'm on wish to hit that I don't even want to mention her name. But I'm a moister hater, I'm in which the head I directly take my loss from the Quran, you know, so you have all this kind of, you know, distorted they want to reform it happened to other religions. Christianity was reformed in the name of reform that you did, there is no, you know, this reformation in Islam. There's no, there's no change in Islam. It's the same Islam that will come
yes, there's no renewal. But you could adjust it slightly based on the timing, not the rules, but just you to accommodate you know, the method or the manner or the way it's, it's, you know, taught. So, rather than traveling to a lecture on a camera, you can travel in a first class, plane, you know, journey. So, anyway, the challenge that I tell the students is that
all these concepts which are being challenged today, were the liberal, the liberal lists, the modernist, the feminists, and the others, who are trying to change
and alter the traditional Islamic teachings,
to make sure that you take these challenges head on, but at the same time you present to the Muslim ummah, the traditional teachings of Islam, but in a modern context, so
not as though you're teaching in America in the 1940s 40s, or 50s.
I'll give you a couple of examples here.
That you know, there was once I delivered a lecture.
Now there's one issue in Islam fake issue that divorce is in the hands of the man the man gives still up.
Not the woman, If a man says to lock, divorced his wife, resented the woman can save 4 billion times and nothing happens. I remember I gave a course and a sister asked and she said, Look, I have a question to controversial question and objection. Why'd there's no equality in Islam? Because Islam gives the right to divorce to a man or not to the woman and it's unfair on Hulu, etc. I said, Sorry, I still will tell you this. First of all, who said that in Islam, only the woman has a right to divorce? Because yeah, it's common knowledge in, you know, traditional Islam. Only woman only the man has the right to divorce. The woman can't give the truck. I say no, you're mistaken. Now, I
explained to her in a different way. I said to her no, it's wrong. But no, I'm talking about traditional Muslims, traditional Islam. Not the enlightened ones. Said no traditional Islam who told you
she said the mother Hubbs. I said here in the madhouse, Hanafi show of Amory Cambodia, Quran, sunnah, Quran, sunnah. And the format had traditional Islam.
Men and women both have the right to divorce. So she just calm down completely. First of all, who this is new, really traditional Islam said here traditional Islam.
Now, you know, because sometimes they just get really angry and you know, they feel very opinionated and they have this rage. So 80% of her thing, you know, her rage, and her objection, has subsided.
That has explained I said, however, let me explain this to you that in Islam, both men and women have the right to end the marriage. However, there's a difference in between how a man ends the marriage and how a woman ends the marriage.
And this difference is because men and women are different. Men are different to women. Women are different to men, mentally, physically, emotionally, psychologically from all different angles.
You're a woman you have menstruation.
Jun is a man who doesn't have ministration you give birth to babies, he doesn't give birth to babies you're emotionally your brain everything's different. We have to accept the differences. So based on differences certain rules are different for men certain rules are women are different. So Allah subhanaw taala the way a man gives a divorce and the way a woman gives a divorce is different. That's the only thing and I said to her the sister this was in a course I said,
I rather be in a woman's shoes in this particular masala in this issue, it's actually more difficult for a man for a man it's very easy. So the way the man gives a divorce and a woman gives a divorce is different for a man is very easy, slip of a tongue the marriage has ended three things her and Jade Donna Judwaa has done three things even out of joking. The manager says the law after law after law ended
how many men who especially who have OCD you know they're scared they're fearful like Have I said to my wife, you know, people I come across so many of them who have obsessive compulsive disorder OCD was was was worse misgivings, it's very difficult. You have to control yourself.
But a woman she didn't get angry and say 10 times a divorce your divorce divorce you and then at the end of the day, I love you, no problem. So it's just different how men and women are.
For a man, it's very easy, but it's actually more difficult. It's not a privilege, it's actually
a responsibility. It's dude, it's it's difficult. Whereas for a woman to give the divorce it doesn't happen that easy. It's not just that she just says dial up and it's done. She has to take a court case to an Islamic Sharia council or whatever and present like how normal divorce would happen in a court of law and you know shouldn't take it has not given my fulfilling my rights my my has not fulfilling its responsibilities is not fulfilling my rights is not providing is not doing this this etc and the marriage doesn't work and you will take a few months and then it will end so basically explain
these issues now
somebody's just did it in a madrasa could have just said yes yes. In Islam only men give it up you're a woman men give the lucky women can't get the lag no Donatella from women, you know, you're not consulted upon your your, your brain is a bit nervous. So you can't.
So this that one extreme.
And then you've got this liberal, I always tell the students, we need to stick to the traditional mainstream or loosen our GEMA mainstream understanding of Islam.
But learn the way of explaining them in the modern concept context, you know, be able to learn how to explain these to the modernists to the Liberals to the people who are out in the public and in the community and inshallah they will embrace it better, if you explain it in modern language in the modern context Shala So, these are the some of the challenges for students, and also not to get involved in controversies and debates and arguments and reputations and counter reputations, do something productive, something beneficial for yourselves for your, for the people for the public. This is my general answer to that Mashallah. Also, one last thing I just remembered. For the
students, it's very important to have this gear
for scholars Young's graduates does Gavin's purification of the of the heart and soul working on it.
So a student who doesn't work on his heart and soul and remove or try to remove all these blameworthy character traits like jealousy, hatred, ostentation, showing off popularity, wanting fame, and not you know, replacing that with Allah sincerity wanting to do things only for the sake of Allah.
If a student or a young scholar or a graduate fails to do that, then that scholar will harm people more than benefit.
And for that Ischia, purification of the heart, so normally, you require a teacher, a specialist in the field, connecting to a person of the scale and so we call it as a wolf where we can you can call it anything to solve this get Hassan, wherever you want to call it, and I'm not talking about you know, this, they can gatherings and all of that that's all on the site, the main job of working on the spiritual diseases, working on them properly. And you know, reading books on this topic, and
there's lots of books on this topic. We're constantly working on ego because we live in a time it's all about popularity. It's all about you know, likes it's all about competition.
earned and that's where it all gets very messy. Because everyone you've become, you want to become like celebrities like the world's dunya. I was called as you know, they went into hiding Imam Ghazali went into hiding, they were doing things for the sake of Allah, you know, this fame and YouTube and videos and popularity, it can really be damaging for everyone and anyone. So does gear is very, very important. So, yeah, you asking your last question?
Which orlimar of the past or the present? What do you what would you do you feel that have had the most influence on you? And similarly, in terms of books, which books would you say, have had the most influence on you? Yeah.
Almost scholars of the current time, I mean, I've mentioned many times chef de taco with money, half of the whole lot of Thai that May Allah protect him. I read his books, I've read all his books multiple times and his understanding of the deen. And for me, that's the most balance. I've said to the lot of the students before as well that he normally says that I've seen, you know, different parts of the world.
For me, he says, the teachings of Hakimullah Marmolada should return we rationalize them best, and it's the most balanced and the most,
you know, the best understanding of Dean. So, I mean, he's moved to Turkey. And that's, of course, I'm not in that
sentence or that message, you know, that kind of conversation. But still Just like that, I just feel from all the different
current day scholars or modern day scholars or his books and his I read the most and he's had the most influence on me most and probably, I mean, I've had a bit of influence from here and there. Like we talked about in the interview. My father is a shareholder, so Matala Rahim, hola. Maybe some others involved in Karachi, as well, some Syrian scholars, but he has had the most influence and I feel the most connection with him. From all my teachers, out of many teachers that I've had
of the past, the son of some I mean amazing, amazing scholars. We have the past I particularly love the books of Imam Novi Imam nowhere I'm Hala Imam how he
his books as well.
Amazing
Ibaka em Rahim. Allah also writes great, I like to read some of his books as well. Imam Ghazali Of course, his books. Everyone likes his books
of the past. And there's I mean, there's so many there's 50 books because I deal with a lot of facts of books out there. Whose books could I think of as well.
Some of the, I mean, in the recent past che Abdel Fatah, Botha, I've said to the students that by all his books, I once gathered all his books, they are beautiful, they look beautiful, they are written beautifully share have done photography, but what there was a Syrian scholar balanced from Hollub, Syria, Aleppo, then he migrated to Saudi in Riyadh, he was a unit lecturer at the University there Hanafi scholar, Hadith expert, very balanced, very respectful. Every sentence of his just
gives out you know, amazing gems. His books are amazing, you learn Arabic, you learn everything from his books. So I love shirehampton fatawa. And his books he passed away in 1997. So not
too long ago. He's one of those people I didn't see I actually you don't want to regret I have is I was unable to see him. I was alive at that time. 97 if I wanted, I could have seen him. But somebody I didn't never meet and I was unable to meet. Also, I haven't read much. But we should read the books of Shahabad Hassan Ali nadwi. He passed away in 1999 plasti in 1989. I've read some of his books, but it's good for students to read his books as well. So these are the recent scholars.
And then you can get you know many Arabic books recent scholars have passport scholars Cheryl EULA, definitely.
So yeah, these are some of the scholars books that I read. In terms of Michelle, they were like, you nicely outlined the scholars. Is there any particular book that stands out for you that you know, has really influenced you? Apart from like the fifth books or
any one book I
mean, edible Islam
has just come to my mind. Sheikh Abdel Fattah, who does book from the manners of Islam, basic etiquette of Islam, when I read that book just stood out is just amazing. It's translated into English as well. I taught it as well. I've taught a few courses on that as well. I would highly recommend reading that
I think on YouTube this some of my
lectures on on that book I taught on there as well. So yeah, that book of schadenfreude, taboada Hamdulillah
I really love that book. And, Helen mashallah, to conclude I'd like to say thank you to you for your time today and likewise to all our viewers that have been with us for the whole interview mashallah cycloalkyl And we pray that it's been beneficial. A lot of what has been discussed in terms of the articles, the books, the videos, etc, can be found on the Doublelift website, and the videos etc can be found on the Doublelift. UK, YouTube channel Inshallah, to subscribe to it, the courses are available there for you to also review many of them are available as pre recordings. So at this moment in time, you can go and access them and, you know, start learning those particular courses,
but they like to highlight I've been taught by our respective chef Mufti Mohammed, we ask that Allah subhanaw taala grant him Baraka in his fifth murder his services that he is carrying out and allow us to continue benefiting from him. I mean, you just love him or call us normally conflict alarms.
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