Muhammad West – Back to Basics – Episode 01

			Haman hamdulillah
		

			Mohammed Ali, he was
		

			a beloved brothers and sisters in Islam. I said I'm Ali Kumara to Lahore Barakatuh Jazakallah fade.
Thank you so much for joining us with Episode One, a brand new series entitled back to basics, the
essentials of Islam. Before we begin a little introduction about the course about this entire
series, we said a few months ago that because we live in a very difficult a very busy time, many of
us would love to learn more about Islam we'd like to attend a class or read a book but we find it
that we just don't have time during the week or even the weekends over the holidays to do any
further studies. And you know even myself Subhanallah I find it very difficult to teach a class I'd
		

			love to teach many classes live but they just isn't time in the day to do something like that Allah
make it easy for us and leave you know the the team yet put a handle, but I don't imagine we make do
out for all of us here that there was a need and said why don't we try and distribute a course via
WhatsApp, very short 2030 minute audio once or twice a week that someone can listen to ideally in
traffic that you setswana so many everyday you said an hour, two hours you're in Cape Town traffic
has become so difficult now let make it easy for us. Let us use that time. beneficially we can
either do a car, or we can listen to a lecture series. And we can actually learn and progress. After
		

			a few weeks of listening to these audios, we have completed a new course while hamdulillah and
therefore about a few months ago, we released our first series called The women around the Messenger
of Allah Salam where we documented and discuss the lives of the mothers of the believers, the wives
of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam in a 50 part series Alhamdulillah a lot of work from the bronto
team, we released that and we completed that Alhamdulillah and it's available to those of you who
have not followed the series, you can contact us and receive the entire series free of charge off of
the episodes with the audios and the material, please, you know, share, we only ask that you you
		

			make the offers and that you share that with other other individuals and you also benefit in
America. So we did that series Alhamdulillah it was completed and it had gone far and wide. And then
we took a bit of a break. And we asked you which series Would you like to learn what area of Islamic
knowledge? Are you interested in learning? We did a bit of a survey we asked you Would you like to
learn about the biography of the Prophet sallallahu sallam, he Sierra? Would you like to learn a
little bit of Tafseer the meanings of the ayah to the sutras that you decide do you want to know
what you are reciting in your Salah. So let's do some Tafseer. We would like to learn about Kiana or
		

			the angels or the jinn or magic or these kind of you know strange things. And while we received, you
know, a hamdulillah responses from nearly 50 people or more the the feedback that has been the
overwhelming majority that you have requested was to learn the basics or the essentials of Islam
again. Now many of you tell me that Alhamdulillah you know we went to madrasa or madrasa as we were
young kids, we learnt a bit of salado how to butcher, as we say in Cape Town. And that was good. But
now that I'm an adult, I'd like to relook at that basic information with a level of maturity and
wisdom in a way that I couldn't appreciate. As a child, I have my own kids now. And I would like to
		

			explain this Deen this way of life to my kids. So we'd like to look at what it means to be a Muslim.
What is this religion all about? Also, I have certain people that have messaged me that are
interested in becoming Muslim. They're not Muslim, but they're interested in Islam. And they want to
know, well, what is this religion all about? Or you find someone that says, You know, I never went
to madrasah I maybe have a Muslim name. But in reality, I have no attachment to this Dean. And I'd
like to learn this religion first, so I can understand what it is that I'm doing. You might even
find the person that is not interested in Islam that is not interested in learning the religion, but
		

			they might interact with Muslims on a daily basis. In fact, one in four people, one quarter of the
world's population identifies as Muslims 50 countries in the world identifies as Muslim majority
countries. So to really understand this religion, which is one of the great faiths of the world,
it's important to know something about it. And inshallah We hope that this course will will do that
of the objectives of this course, is we want to take Islam all the way back to its very core. We are
going to look at Islam at the very essential basic level. And we want to ask those fundamental
questions, those questions that every human being asked some point in your life, you wake up in the
		

			morning, and you think, why am I going to work? Why am I you know, what am I doing on this earth?
What is the purpose of my life? Who put me here? Is the Creator is there God is everything. Yes.
		

			The reason is the greater purpose or is everything here by chance or by luck. What happens after I
pass away? What will become of me and my deeds? We will look at the very basic fundamental questions
that every human being asks some point in your life, the purpose of life, we will hope through this
course to strengthen your relationship with Allah subhanho wa Taala, your Creator, and you will find
that you can worship Him in every aspect of your life. It is not just the solar, it is worship, but
in how you buy and sell how you talk to your wife, how you interact with your children, your
customers, how you use the toilet is all part of your relationship with Allah subhanho wa Taala. We
		

			will highlight the truth and the evidences of this religion. Why is Islam true? And why should I
follow and believe this religion? How do I know it is correct? We'll look at those evidences the
evidences of the Quran, the miracles of the Prophet sallallahu sallam, then we will look at what it
means to be a Muslim. What are the things I need to believe? And the things I need to do? How do I
perform those basic rituals of salah and fasting and purification. And we also hope as we did in the
mothers of the believers or the women around the messenger Salaam, we hope to respond to certain
criticism in modern the modern day and age, what you see on TV or in the media about Islam, a very
		

			different Islam to what is found in the Quran and the Sunnah and the way the prophets and I'm live
this life, how do we respond to those criticizing Islam? Those who, on a theological level attack
this religion? How do we respond to that being a Muslim in the Western world? How do I preserve my
Islam in this context? So we hope to do all these things in sha Allah with the CDs, but you can
allow us Allah to grant that sincerity. Allah grant us success, and the perseverance to go through
it and to only say and do that which pleases him when hamdulillah so we begin in sha Allah listen to
one, what is Islam? What is Islam? I call myself a Muslim. I say I practice the religion of Islam.
		

			But if someone were to ask me, what does this Islam mean? And it's very important for us to look at
words, words, obviously have meaning, the word Islam, the word Muslim, they are Arabic words, and
they mean something. And Allah subhanho wa Taala chose these words to describe this religion for a
reason. So it's important to go back to the Arabic. So the word Islam, the word Islam, if you open
the Arabic dictionary, and you were to look up this word, you would see that the word Islam, it
comes from it's a root letters, it's the root letters means to submit or to surrender. The one who
makes Islam, the one who makes who practices This is the one who submits or he surrenders, he does
		

			not oppose anything. He is the one also the one that fully wholeheartedly gives up all opposition.
This is what the word Islam means from a linguistic background. Also, you know, as Muslims we say,
Assalamualaikum, the word Assam peace, Islam, similarly, is derived from from that. So there's an
element of being in a state of peacefulness, the one who submits peacefully completely. This is
really what the word Islam refers to. That is the word in the dictionary. When we speak about Islam
as the religion. What do we mean? Islam is the religion of the one who submits and surrenders
completely wholeheartedly purely to his creator, the male, the female, the person who submits
		

			completely in peace, without any opposition to the Creator. That person is the one who practices
Islam, it is the way of life it is the religion that puts you in submission with the Creator. That
is what this word Islam means. And the one who submits the one who practices the religion, the one
who follows this religion of submission, he is called a Muslim. So the Muslim is the one who submits
Islam is the way in which you submit to the higher power to the Creator. In this course, we will ask
Who is this creator? How do I submit How do I be a Muslim? Those questions in sha Allah will come
the term Islam and Muslim very interestingly, they are found in the Quran, they found in our
		

			scripture, and we did not name ourselves Muslim. And nor did we give this religion there was no
shape or mowlana. That said, the word Islam sounds really nice. I will give you that name. We could
have had many names, we could have been the mohammedans, the followers of Muhammad, we could have
been the the monotheists, the ones who believe in one God, but the name Islam was given to us this
label was placed upon us by whom, by Allah Himself, by the Lord, creator of the universe. He had
chosen the name of our religion, and he had given us the label. There is no need for us to have any
other labels when it comes to our belief. You're either a Muslim or non Muslim, that you are one who
		

			submits or you will not submit. This is the title Allah had given you had given me and there are
many religions on earth yet you will not find in those religious scriptures. The word Christianity
you open the Bible, you won't find the word Christian Christianity.
		

			This was something which the followers later added, you look at the scriptures of the Vedas or
Hinduism, you won't find the word Hindu in the Buddhism, you will not find the word. Buddhists
inside the scripture are always the follower of Buddha. This religion, which is very unique, you
find the term Islam and Muslim in the Quran. So Allah Subhana Allah says in Surah, Merida, four
three of the Quran, verse number three, Allah says, this day, I have perfected for you your
religion, this religion, I have perfected it, and I completed my favor upon you or mankind. And I
have approved for you that Islam shall be your religion, but this religion that you shall follow
		

			this way of life is going to be called Islam. And Allah subhanaw taala then also labeled us as
Muslims, when you sit in sort of Hajj, the 22nd surah of the Quran, verse number 78. He said, this
religion is the religion of your forefather Ibrahim, this religion is the same religion that was
practiced by Abraham. It is He Allah, God Almighty, who has named you as Muslims, both before and in
the school. And I've given you the title as Muslim, the ones who submit as I've given Ibrahim the
title as Muslim and before him. So we begin to see now that this religion, and this title of Islam,
and this title of Muslim is one that was given to us by the Creator Himself. And he's the religion
		

			that he has favored and chosen for mankind. And as we see, this is the only religion in the world
where you open the book, and you will say this title was not given by any clergy or any Imam, it was
given by God Himself. When you open other scriptures, you won't find the word Christianity, even in
the Bible, just something to think about. So when did this religion commence? As I mentioned, the
verse, Allah says that Ibrahim was a Muslim, and that he followed the religion of Islam. So who
began this religion? If you you know, you search Islam on the web on the internet, you'll find the
check. Google will tell you that Islam is a religion that was founded by Muhammad by a man called
		

			Muhammad 1400 years ago, so Islam is 1400 years old. We say no, as Muslims, we do not say that. If
you were to ask, When did Islam begin? We say, Islam is the religion, where you submit to the
Creator with the creation submits to the Creator, the creation obeys the Creator. Now we say if you
look at nature, whether you look at the most distant star in the universe, or the smallest atom, you
know, in creation, whether you go into the depths of the ocean, or high up in the sky, when you look
at the animals, the planets, the trees, the wind, the rain, everything in nature follows a system,
it has a design, it has a purpose, the sun rises as it should, from the east, and it sits in the
		

			West, the moon follow it stages through the month, the stars arise and the stars sit, the Earth
turns on its axis, we say that this universe, everything in creation, everything in creation follows
a system. It does its function, it is obedient, and it is in submission. Everything in creation is a
Muslim, it follows the religion of Islam, the religion of Islam, as you said, is the submission to
God. Whoever submits to God is a Muslim, the sun submits to Allah, the moon submits to its creator,
the earth submits to its creator, the animal submits to the Creator. Everything in creation is a
Muslim. And therefore the religion of Islam did not start with Muhammad Sallallahu sallam, it did
		

			not start with Ibrahim alayhi salam, he did not even start with our father Adam, it started at the
very beginning of creation, in fact, at the point of creation, when Allah himself when the Creator
of all things, the Lord God most high, when he created the first thing in creation, and we'll talk
about the very first thing that Allah created, when he created that thing, that thing submitted to
Allah, that creation obeyed its creator. So that thing was a Muslim, when the angels came about and
they obey and submit, so they are Muslims as well. And then humanity was created. Now, humanity, you
and me, we as people are unique, we are something very special within creation, there is nothing in
		

			creation that we can see. That is like us. Why? Because we have the ability to choose, we have free
will. We can either submit or not submit, we can obey or we can disobey. We can surrender to God, or
we can oppose God. And therefore for us, Islam is a choice, Islam, this religion, this way of life
is something you choose. You either choose to be a Muslim, or you choose not to be a Muslim, whereas
everything else in creation is by default, without any choice, they submit, and they bow and they
worship God in the way in which they are meant to to do so without any without any opposition. You
me, my children, your children, our parents, we have to make a choice, to submit or not to submit
		

			and everything
		

			Ultimately, our lives comes down to this question, do I submit and obey the creator? Or don't? I do
so? And what will be the repercussions? If I submit? What will be the repercussions if I don't
submit? If I choose to submit it, who is this creator? Why should I submit to Him? Why should I
follow Him and surrender to Him? Who is he? And how do I fit into him? insha Allah in the next few
episodes, we'll talk further as to the fundamentals of Islam. And we'll talk about the Creator who
is Allah subhana wa Tada. And we'll answer these very fundamental questions. I remind yourself as
well, you know, please feel free to question and to ask, please feel free to highlight any mistakes
		

			that I've made so I can correct myself in upcoming episodes. I hope this was beneficial and you'd be
part of the CDs please share it. Any questions, concerns or comments, please email me on whist
[email protected] or visit our website and you can get these lectures or query as further zakka Hey,
thank you so much until our next episode was around work with a lawyer where to go to